It's a darn shame, but I can't post any articles yet, even though I have one ready. The html markup is complicating things a lot. If only the coding crap was automated... I really don't want to spend time learning code that will be outdated and replaced before you know it. But I have no choice. I'll figure it out somehow.

Anyway, my vacation is starting tomorrow. You won't hear from me for the next two, three weeks. After that, things will change around here if everything works out well.

Anxiously awaiting your return. Forum has been deader than ever last few weeks. I'm just at a loss.

What HTML markup is causing you trouble? Posting a thumbnail image at the start of the article? Do what I do - copy and paste it from a previous article. =) Or just give me the URL of your desired image and I'll worry about thumbnailing and uploading it, and just give you the code to link it into your post.

I've given you moderator access to the Articles forum, so you can post a new article whenever you please. Once I've proof read it and checked the image and everything, I'll flag it as an Announcement which will make it show up on the main page of the site.

BTW, what other forums have you tried/do you visit? I'd like to jump on some other open-topic unmoderated forums and see if I can't poach a little traffic. Please let me know.

I'm mostly having trouble with image and text alignment. I know how to align a picture to the right, left or center. But if I have a paragraph with an image on the left and some text on the right, I cannot make the text stop half way down the picture to continue underneath it. But sometimes I require this trick to work to separate paragraphs nicely without killing the post ecstatics.

Most tutorials suggest to use 'br clear', which doesn't work.(not in my browser, at least) I've tried some alternatives with no results. I can't say that I have any real experience with heavy markup, but surely I'm not trying anything too special here? I've got more issues I need to work out, but this one bothers me the most.

I remember you told me about using a thumbnail in the upper left corner of an article. I'm not sure why you're using this approach, and I can't say that I find it particularly appealing either but that's of lesser concern. If you really want this, I can implement it with no problem at all. I'll just turn it into a small introduction every time or something. We can work that out. Importing the markup for the thumbnail is not difficult either. Not compared to the things I'm trying to do.

You've given me moderator access already? You really are desperate, huh? Well, thanks for the privilege. I'll try not to disappoint you.

Hm. You know, I've made a small list of uncensored websites and forums before I registered on SD. Here they are, together with some other free speech sites I occasionally visit.

Downloadpolitics must be the best alternative next to yours I can think of right now. It has one major issue though. People of all kinds have registered there and are sort of.... making it unappealing. You've got real trash on that website. And of course the trash outnumbers the fun and interesting members by a 100 to 1 ratio. It's a shame, and it shows that you do need to remove people who do nothing but spam mindless dribble all over the place. I challenge you to read a few topics and not be annoyed by the member called 'kleinbok', who tirelessly posts goat pictures everywhere. He alone made me avoid this site.

Similar sites, like hateforum might seem just as good, except they are much worse than downloadpolitics. On downloadpolitics you can have discussions. On sites like hateforum you cannot. Their members are too dumb for conversations.

Godlikeproductions is another forum-type website which, amazingly, is not moderated at all. Well, at least that is what the 'about' and the disclaimers say. I can't confirm this because someone who used the same ISP as me has apparently tried to attack this site with viruses or something. Godlikeproductions blocked the entire ISP so I can't view this site anymore.

VNN, and stormfront, which needs no introduction, are two white nationalist sites that are great because of their mostly uncensored nature. Sometimes they give me access to very interesting and often hidden/inaccessible information.

I Am Pissed Off, is a ranting website which is in my eyes disappointingly non-offensive. As the name suggests, it's about people who want to have an angry rant about someone or something. It is uncensored though. But I'm not certain to what extend. Will they allow everything, no matter how hateful, sick and twisted you are? I guess there's only one way to find out, and I think I'll take that task upon me and report back here, just for fun.

Sociallyunsencored is another site I have no personal experience with, but the regulations appear to back up their free speech claims fairly well. I guess it's another contender.

That's it for now. I have more sites in my list, but I'm not certain if they support free speech at all. Some websites, like hipforums, claim to have free speech when they actually do not. I'll go through my list more extensively to find out if there's more.

As for the summary above, it may not seem impressive, but it is. Finding websites that truly support free speech is like finding a straw in a needlestack. And that's not at all exaggerated.

Welcome back. Nobody posted while you were gone, so we didn't even miss you. =)

Jackie wrote:I'm mostly having trouble with image and text alignment. I know how to align a picture to the right, left or center. But if I have a paragraph with an image on the left and some text on the right, I cannot make the text stop half way down the picture to continue underneath it. But sometimes I require this trick to work to separate paragraphs nicely without killing the post ecstatics.

See How do you... thread for my full answer to this... short answer is, no fucking idea dude.

Jackie wrote:I remember you told me about using a thumbnail in the upper left corner of an article. I'm not sure why you're using this approach, and I can't say that I find it particularly appealing either but that's of lesser concern. If you really want this, I can implement it with no problem at all. I'll just turn it into a small introduction every time or something. We can work that out. Importing the markup for the thumbnail is not difficult either. Not compared to the things I'm trying to do.

Thank, I'd like that. I'm a big fan of function and form, of habit and precedence, of recognizable templates. If you don't mind sticking to the format, that would be appreciated. If you REALLY don't want to though. I'm not going to stage a hissy fit.

Jackie wrote:You've given me moderator access already? You really are desperate, huh? Well, thanks for the privilege. I'll try not to disappoint you.

Don't get cocky. Moderator access in that particular forum only means that you're allowed to post. You still can't edit, delete, announce, sticky, or anything else that traditional moderator access can do. It's only to allow you to get your articles up, then I'll proof read them and flag them as Announcements (which gets them on the front page of the site) as I see fit.

Jackie wrote:Hm. You know, I've made a small list of uncensored websites and forums before I registered on SD. Here they are, together with some other free speech sites I occasionally visit.

Thanks, I really appreciate this. If I can join these forums, and have SocDev advertised in my forum sig, we might get a couple of new users here. Especially with your quality article content.

Jackie wrote:As for the summary above, it may not seem impressive, but it is. Finding websites that truly support free speech is like finding a straw in a needlestack. And that's not at all exaggerated.

If you're still posting on any of these forums, would you mind including the URL to SocDev in your forum sig? The more we blast the URL out there, the better chance this site has of ever reaching any kind of success...

Moderator access in that particular forum only means that you're allowed to post. You still can't edit, delete, announce, sticky, or anything else that traditional moderator access can do. It's only to allow you to get your articles up, then I'll proof read them and flag them as Announcements (which gets them on the front page of the site) as I see fit.

I already knew this. Expect for the 'not being able to edit' part, which is a major deterrent. What if I have some typos I overlooked? What if I want to add something later, make an update, change or improve code, etc?

If I can join these forums, and have SocDev advertised in my forum sig, we might get a couple of new users here. Especially with your quality article content.

I do believe in quality over quantity, and I'll try my best to make every article worth reading and sharing. But 'my best' might not be good enough, or even satisfactory.
I haven't posted any articles yet, so how can you know if I'm good at it? To be honest, even I don't know. I can't even say I'm good at posting in general.

But what I do know, is that it's not recommended to advertise a poor product currently under development. SocDev is still crap as we speak. It can turn into something marvelous, but it's not there yet. You might attract undesired members in the process. I know you're dying for new people, but I believe you're better off with no members at all than a bunch of shitstabbers who degrade the site to a level lower than CJJ's intellect and post quality. And you'd be surprised how easy that is.

I don't know about you, but I feel it would be a waste to give a free speech haven away to a bunch of retarded foul-mouthed kids.

The list of websites I referred to is one I merely lurk on. I don't post on forums, or any other site for that matter.** Like I said, people banned me wherever I registered. So I had to search for uncensored sites, and guess what? Yours was the best candidate. I haven't bothered with the alternatives yet, but I'll post something on I Am Pissed Off and DownloadPolitics. Just to cement my choice a bit. Maybe I'll find some new potential members.

** Oh yeah, I'm not being 100% honest, I do post a comment on youtube videos sometimes. And sometimes they report me for posting 'hate speech'. I hate people.

You might want to avoid DownloadPolitics. I joined and was banned after one post. I told them why their site is and will always remain crap - and why it's such a terrible waste. Apparently, the site admin can't handle criticism. He probably wants to keep his site dedicated to spammers for his own amusement.

The banner on the home page was a lie - it's not 'a site for the politically inclined to argue with minimal censorship'. It's more like the opposite. Anyone who thinks too much or is too serious gets the boot.

I Am Pissed Off has a technical issue. You can't paste text into the word processor they use where you have to submit your post. I prepared something for them, but it's too much to type over. Man, I hate this kind of bullshit.

The point of the thumbnail is that when you click it, it links to a large lovely hi-res pic for your viewing pleasure. That pic you provided is barely more than a thumbnail itself. The closest thing I could find in a larger image is this:-

Would that suit your needs? If not, please link me to a more suitable hi-res pic for your image link. I can make the thumbnail up for you and upload it to the server if you like. It's not a secret, I just can't be bothered explaining the process. =)